Reimold brings toughness, ice packs

Orioles rookie plays through pain without complaint

Rookie Nolan Reimold has impressed the Orioles with his ability to play through an array of bumps and bruises this season.

"You guys should have seen it in the clubhouse the other day. You come in there and the guy looks like the Iceman Cometh," Manager Dave Trembley told MLB.com. "He's got ice on his knee, his foot, his shoulder, his hamstring, his Achilles. It's everywhere, and he doesn't say one word. I think in the offseason, he'll probably get something done. He's a pretty tough kid. He's got a 25 percent tear in his Achilles, and he runs like he runs and doesn't say anything. That's why I've tried to get him off his feet sometimes, just [at designated hitter] and not playing in the outfield."

Despite the injuries, Reimold is batting .276 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs.

Dumatrait celebrates long road back from surgery: Phil Dumatrait was back on a Major League mound for the first time since last July following a long recovery from shoulder surgery.

"It was definitely exciting," Dumatrait told MLB.com. "It's been a long road back, and it felt so good just getting out there and getting on the mound again."

The left-hander allowed one hit and struck out one in an inning of relief in the Pirates' 12-2 win over the Reds on Saturday night.

Benitez catches attention of Astros: The Houston Astros signed 36-year-old Armando Benitez to a Minor League contract. Benitez, who was pitching for the Newark Bears in the independent Atlantic League, will head to Triple-A Round Rock.

"Enos [Cabell, special assistant to General Manager Ed Wade] reported that Armando was in very good shape and was throwing well," Wade told the Houston Chronicle. "Tim Raines, who is managing the Newark club, believes that Benitez is highly motivated to get back to the big leagues.

"We'll give Armando a chance to finish the season at Round Rock and then determine where we go from there."

Lowrie hopes to return this season: Jed Lowrie, set back by injuries this season, is still hoping to be able to return to the field this year.

"It's getting to the point in the season where it either responds well and I play, or it doesn't," Lowrie told the Boston Globe. "There's no really gray area at this point.

"I can't say that I haven't thought that. I don't know if that's the biggest thought in my head or the one that comes up most. When it feels great, you're like, 'Oh, let's go do it.' When it feels bad, it's like 'Well, I might be done for the year.' I think it feels better more than it feels worse. We'll see how it feels."

Molina goes unscathed at hot corner: With the Boston Red Sox en route to a 14-1 win over the Yankees on Saturday, reserve catcher Jose Molina pinch-hit for Alex Rodriguez in the seventh inning and replaced the slugger in the field at third base, too.

Molina, who has played 10 times at first base during his 11-year career, didn't have any balls hit his way.

Dunn, Zimmerman putting up glorious numbers: The Nationals have two offensive stalwarts in their lineup -- Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman. Both are in the top 10 in the NL in home runs. The 26 home runs have been a surprise for Zimmerman while Dunn's .288 average has been better than expected.

"We feel good about the progress of both of them, Zim especially," general manager Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post. "The addition of Dunn -- he's come as advertised or better than advertised, really. Zim, this is his natural progression. Players like him have three steady seasons and then a breakout season, and we expect more of the same now from him down the road."

"I think, more than anything else, they've both fed off of each other," hitting coach Rick Eckstein said. "The way these guys talk to one another, the way they push one another, there are a lot of good things happening."

Doumit gets boost from Tanner: On the night when the Pirates honored the 1979 World Champions -- including 80-year-old manager Chuck Tanner -- at PNC Park, Ryan Doumit managed to escape a 4-for-34 slump with three hits and three RBIs.

His offensive show came not long after a meeting with Tanner, who last spring pushed the Pirates to make Doumit their starting catcher.

"Chuck Tanner's always been in my corner, and that means the world to me," Doumit told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "And that's what he told me. He told me he believes in me. To hear that from a baseball man who's had all those great players, who won a championship -- man, I can't tell you what a confidence boost it was."

Morrow, Silva likely to get the call: When rosters expand in September, the Mariners plan to recall Brandon Morrow and Carlos Silva.

"We would still like to see [Morrow] as a starter," manager Don Wakamatsu told the Seattle Times. "We'd like to get him up here and give him an opportunity before the year's out, so we can make some adjustments, too, for next year.

"We don't know if he'll be able to start," Wakamatsu said of Silva, "but we did talk about some winter-ball things with him also."

Feldman's road win streak a rarity: Scott Feldman improved to 13-4 this season after a 4-0 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Feldman, who won his fifth straight game on the road, allowed only four hits in seven innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters while walking only two.

"We mixed it up really good," Feldman told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Pudge [Rodriguez] is probably the best catcher of all-time, and he's got a really good idea about what he's doing back there. He showed a lot of confidence in me and my off-speed pitches. That made a big difference facing those guys."

The last Texas pitcher to win five straight games on the road was Rick Helling in 1998.

Santana chalks up fourth win in a row: Ervin Santana won his fourth consecutive start on Saturday.

"I know I'm not going to throw 96, so I have to focus on location," Santana told the Los Angeles Times. "If you locate your fastball, no matter how hard it is, you're going to get good results."

Nine K's highlight Smoltz's first start for Cardinals: In his first start as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, John Smoltz proved that he has plenty left in the tank by working five shutout innings, during which he gave up no runs on just three hits. He also struck out nine, including seven in a row from the last batter of the first inning through the end of the third.

"I haven't had many chances to feel this way, so I'm not going to get carried away," Smoltz told MLB.com. "If I had mediocre stuff, I wouldn't have chosen this place. I could have probably chosen a lesser place with less pressure and just regained my confidence, because I want to pitch next year. But I truly believed the whole time that I have what it takes. My fastball is good enough, my split's good enough and my slider is as good as it's ever been."